Japan has one of the most advanced robotics industries in the world, with the government actively supporting the field for future growth. Industrial models in factories are now standard, but recently Japanese companies are making a push to inject robots into everyday life.

　　由于政府大力支持该领域以应对未来发展，日本的机器人产业一直处于世界领先水平。应用于工厂的工业机器人目前已经非常规范，而最近日本公司正在推进机器人在日常生活中的使用。

　　Honda makes a walking child-shaped robot, and other firms have developed them to entertain the elderly or play baseball. Kokoro, whose corporate goal is to "touch the hearts of the people," also makes giant dinosaur robots for exhibitions and lifelike androidmodels that can smile and laugh. The company is a subsidiaryof Sanrio Co., which owns the rights to Hello Kitty and other Japanese characters.

　　本田公司开发了一种可以行走的儿童型机器人，其它公司还开发出了帮老年人解闷和会打棒球的机器人。以“触动人心”为宗旨的Kokoro公司曾研制出供展览的大型恐龙机器人，以及会微笑和大笑的仿真机器人。Kokoro公司隶属于三丽鸥公司，该公司旗下有Hello Kitty和其它一些日本卡通人物形象等文化品牌。

　　"This was a lot of fun. I think that Japanese have a strong sense that robots are our friends. Those in the robot industry mostly understand this, but people mainly want robots near them that serve some purpose," said bride Satoko Inoue, 36, who works at manufacturer Kokoro.

　　任职于Kokoro公司的36岁的新娘井上聪子说：“让机器人来主持婚礼真的很有意思。我觉得日本人有一种把机器人看作人类朋友的强烈意识。在机器人领域工作的人都十分理解这一点，但人们主要还是想让身边的机器人为他们做些事情。”